Helen Mirren, Russell Crowe, Scott Eastwood and Gore Verbinski are among the top talent set to attend the upcoming Taormina Film Festival in Italy, with the upcoming 72nd lineup announced, which will feature a mix of crowd-pleasers and films of a more esoteric quality.
As previously announced, Crowe will head to the prestigious festival at the Sicilian resort known to American audiences as the filming location for Season 2 of The White Lotus for the world premiere of Australian action thriller Bear Country, where he reunites with Unhinged director Derrick Bolte and plays a veteran club owner whose plans for a peaceful retirement with his girlfriend are derailed when his establishment is robbed by masked assailants. “Bear Country” will be performed as a special event at the Ancient Greek Theater in Taormina, in the shadow of Sicily’s active volcano Mount Etna, and will be attended by most of the principal cast, including “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul.
Director Verbinski, perhaps best known for the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, comes to Taormina with the offbeat sci-fi comedy “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.” This work is being screened in competition.
Taormina’s other competition titles include “Animol,” a coming-of-age drama directed by Ashley Walters set in a British juvenile detention center. Hear the Yellow is an intimate romantic drama from Turkish director Banu Sivaci. “Roya,” a powerful drama by dissident Iranian filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi about an Iranian teacher detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison. Directed by Michael Gallagher, The Leader stars Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga and tells the true story of a cult known as Heaven’s Gate that convinced dozens of people to give up their lives and await evacuation from Earth.
Rounding out the competition is Congo Boy, a Cannes masterpiece directed by Congolese filmmaker Rafiki Faryala. “Erica” is a horror movie directed by Japanese film director Taro Miyaoka. German director Ben Voigt’s Gropiusstadt Supernova, set on a frenzied New Year’s Eve in Berlin, premieres today. Italian director Guido Chiesa’s “Little Miracles” is set in Rome. and “La Calle Pura,” a Cuban documentary drama about a teenager who dreams of becoming Cuba’s next reggaeton star.
As previously announced, Jane Campion will chair Taormina Fest’s jury and Helen Mirren will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Scott Eastwood will be holding a master class for students and will also receive an award.
Having Campion, a two-time Academy Award winner for “The Piano” (1993) and “The Power of the Dog” (2021) and the first woman ever to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, serve as jury president will help boost the international profile of the Sicilian event, which is being revamped by marketing guru and festival expert Tiziana Rocca.
The distinguished panel of judges also includes Holly Hunter, costume designer Miyako Bellizzi, casting director Francine Meisler, breakout director Akinola Davis Jr. (In the Shadow of the Father), Sue Kroll, head of global marketing for Amazon MGM Studios, and Italian actor and director Pietro Castellitto.
Rocca, who has close ties to Hollywood, will return to the helm of Taormina in 2025, eight years after he was forced to resign due to political infighting in 2017 after a five-year term. Rocca’s first move last year was to reintroduce a competitive section consisting of 10 titles.
This year, Rocca introduced a short film competition category consisting of 11 films related to Sicily through story and theme.
The Taormina opener will be the Italian premiere of the first episode of season 3 of HBO’s House of the Dragon, with stars Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Harry Colette (Jacaerys Velaryon), Bethany Antonia (Baela Targaryen) and Phoebe Campbell (Reyna Targaryen) among others scheduled to attend the show’s grand Taormina Greek Amphitheatre launch.
Out-of-competition entries include episodes 1 and 6 of Canadian filmmaker Michael Zelniker’s documentary series on the global water crisis, “The Struggle for Mother Water.” Deep Water is a disaster movie directed by Renny Harlin. Tommy Dorfman’s young adult drama “I Wish You All the Best” is about a teenager who comes out as non-binary. and the musical “Kiss of the Spider-Woman,” directed by Bill Condon.
Special events include a Greek theater screening of a restored version of Luchino Visconti’s neorealist classic Bellissima to mark the 75th anniversary of the film’s release, and Anna Magnani’s award-winning performance as a working-class mother determined to get her young daughter a film contract.
Sicilian-born, Oscar-winning Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore will be honored with the Golden Globe Award for Best Documentary in Taormina for his documentary film Brunello: A Gracious Visionary, about Italian fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli, known as the King of Cashmere, in partnership with the Artemis Rising Foundation.
The 72nd Taormina will be held from June 10th to 14th.
